Angels, Demons, & Keepers
by moonraven16
Summary: Over the world, children are disappearing & demons are dying. Ciel finds her half frozen in the snow, with a creepy cat, & a book full of glyphs. When she awakes she brings mystery & Seraphs with her. She is the Keeper & swears that the world is ending, all she needs is a little protection until she can fix the wrongs. He could help her or trade her for his lost soul? [AU Revising]
1. Chapter 1

It was cold as it should have been in the frosty season of winter. The sky was painted in a mixture of a dark gray and an inky black, no stars kissed the night and there was no moonlight to shine light upon the monsters that lurked in the darkness. One monster, in particular, was walking through the winter wonderland at a sluggish pace, besides the sounds of his and numerous wandering footsteps crunching in the snow, the world was silent.

There was a touch of crimson splashed across dark blue that would have brought alarm if the light of day had been casting its halo of warmth throughout the town. However, it was the darkness turn to rule and the blackness it cast allowed such a shocking coloring to blend in with the blue the monster wore. This monster blended in rather well with the rest of the lingering humans that tread through the snow at such a godforsaken hour.

The streets lights that stood along the side of the concrete walkway flickered off and on whereas some had lost their life altogether and given into night. A loud, shrill laughter suddenly shattered the silence and obtained the monster's attention. It had him pause at a standstill and lift his head slightly so that his eye could focus on the young teens that stumbled down the path. Even from the several feet away from them, he could smell the disgusting intoxication on their breath and in their clothing. It was sad seeing what humanity has come to in the many years he's remained frozen in time.

He discreetly remained watchful of the passing humans, keeping as far off the path as the sidewalk would allow him without taking a step into the empty road at his back. Yet still somehow one of the three mortals managed to knock his shoulder against the monster slightly smaller frame and throwing off his balance. He quickly regained it before he could take a tumble in the road, the monster heard the sharp tone of the one who had bumped him.

 **"Watch it."**

He had to channel his anger swelling inside him to keep from doing something reckless once again. Deep in his body there was no hesitation to make himself the one they feared. Fear is shackles, fear is a knife in the gut slowly twisted, fear is a constant hammer on the head. Fear is what made mortals hearts pound and blood quicken, fear is what eased the emptiness of his existence.

This monster refrained from causing fear, not because he wanted to but because he promised to. He had changed a lot since his damnation, but still, he remained a man of his word. Yet being stuck in a seventeen-year-old body has caused a strain on his emotional stability due to a male hormone called testosterone often resulting in him allowing anger to rule in his action over logic.

The same thing had happened earlier in the day when he came to face three more of humanity great creations and ended up put one in a coma and the others hospitalized. It often irked him to think that he missed being one of them, but like them he had taken his humanity for granted and now it was gone.

The monster quickly became ensnared within his own labyrinth of thoughts once again, cooling his rising temper like a bucket of cold water. He turned his body away from the humans as they went one way and he went the other way. The snow began to fall in thick fat flakes, lightly brush against pale cheeks and resting atop bluish-black hair. It was out of his peripheral vision and with his heighten senses did he notice her.

A porcelain doll. Her hair was the colour of the sun's beams and cascaded like a waterfall down her back, reaching well past her waist, but this was no more striking than her eyes which were like emerald set symmetrically into her almost colourless face, brimming, to the point of overflowing, with peace, wisdom, and interest. Her figure, slender and pale like a porcelain ornament and seemingly as fragile, also looked to be light as a feather.

Indeed she appeared to glide as she moved swiftly from her side to his side of the street, the hem of her black dress sweeping the snow as though she were floating an inch or so above the ground. Her eyes held a distant, dreamy look within them, yet seemed to scan her surroundings with purpose. As her eyes met fleetingly with his one rich blue they held within them an eerily knowing look as though she could see right into his mind and knew exactly what he was thinking.

She was gone, becoming a phantom as she moved into the alleyway on his left. It was not her beauty nor the way she did not leave footsteps in the snow, no it was who she reminded him of that had him pursuing her.

 **"Lizzy?!"**

He moved rapidly going after her distant form into the darken alleyway. He wasn't sure how many steps he had taken nor how long he walked farther and deeper into the narrow path, but he hit a dead end without catching a glimpse of the phantom woman. The rich blue of the left eye gave away to a sinister vermillion with a thin diamond shaped pupil at the center.

These were one of the days where he felt like he was losing his mind. His first instinct was violent as he wanted to lash out at something, yet a low sound echoed against the brick walls and rung loudly within his ears. He automatically turned towards the sound and found the source in the form of a small feline. Beyond the odd eyes, the cat's figure was unseen completely blending in with the white of the snow surrounding them.

The feline's left eye was a silver and the right eye an orange, both eyes looked as if they had some sort of film over it, almost as if they were covered in fog or mist. Was it blind? His train of thought was derailed as he noticed the bright silver peeking from underneath the piling snow. It was directly underneath the mysterious cat. The monster wasn't sensing anything off or disturbing just yet and was naturally a curious one, so instead of turning away and heading home to Sebastian _,_ as he should have, he investigated.

The cat got up and took a few steps backward as he drew closer to it. The animal did not hiss or look in the slightest frightened or intimated by him, it was just watching him which was a tad bit unnerving. The monster bend down with an inquisitive glint in his eye, sweeping a hand back and forth to brush away the snow that dusted the object. He found the silver to be metal, a link of an iron chain to be exact.

He saw the beginning of a cuff with a very large book clasped within it. The book was old and heavy, the leather felt soft and delicate as he ran his fingers over the faded red bindings. As his finger touched the cuff it suddenly unclasped itself and landed on the ground with a solid thump. He bypassed what happened too enthralled with the book. He fingered the gold lettering carefully before he opened the cover, paper rustled as he thumbed through the book.

The pages within are brittle and what remains of the book's original stitching is barely holding it together. What confused him the most was what laid within the book, there were no words nor was it any langue that he knew of. It was all written in glyphs. He could have remained crouched over the book, glyphs appeared and disappeared as his eye flitted across the pages, quickly picking out anything of importance from the jumble of markings that littered the world he had become immersed in.

He was forced to set the book down when a cat jumped onto the open pages and knocked it from his hands. As the book touched the ground it snapped itself shut and, as if magnetized, the cuff was drawn towards it and clasped itself shut and locked around the book. The monster was tempted to pick it up again but the cat shoved that thought out of his mind as it arched its back and hissed at him obviously upset with something.

The cat grabbed a chain link between its jaw and with an unnaturally amount of speed and strength it began dragging the book away from him. The monster was up and on his feet in a fraction of a second, quickly moving after the cat and the book. At the dead end, he found there was another passageway, unseen from the angle he had been at. It dipped down into a slimmer alleyway where sly glowing eyes stared at him from afar.

He could barely fit in it, rarely did he miss the days of having a scrawny thirteen-year-old body, but today was a day where he longed to have something he couldn't get back. The monster wasn't exactly large but it would be unwise to call him small either. His shoulders were broad enough that they brushed against the side of brick walls, the further in he went the smaller it seemed to get.

As he got closer to the cat, a strange aroma filled the air. The scent was followed by the faint thumping of a heartbeat, slower than the average humans. The only visible eye widen a tad when he peered deeper into the darkness, making out the cat as well as what the cat was sitting on. She looked paler than when he had spotted her earlier, that phantom woman. He had nearly forgotten his whole reasoning in walking into the alley in the first place.

She was sprawled on the ground with her back propped up against the back wall, her head was bent at an uncomfortable angle with her chin pressed against her chest. The black dressed was an uncommon sight in this modern era, it was a Victorian dress with white laces and frills. The hair looked more like a faded straw over the sun, her feet were bare and it was an astonishment to see that they weren't blue yet. He might have thought her dead if not for the way her body shook in a shiver every now and then, her breath came out in almost unseen waves of gray fog. She was alive but looked eerily dead.

He wanted to leave her here. She wasn't _her,_ Lizzy wouldn't be caught dead in something so dreary. This female was also far to well-endowed and curvy to be Lizzy, how he could have mistaken her for Lizzy he didn't know, besides he knew she was gone. He knew it.

Yet the metal cuff that clasped her left arm, attaching the book to her, was something he couldn't leave alone. The monster liked to have an understand of everything if possible. It's been a very long time since he's had a case, even longer since anything of a challenge appeared to him. He would regret losing such a good case if he left her. So he closed the distance between himself and the unconscious female, lowering himself to inspect her closer.

When he reached out a hand to check her pulse he felt pain spike within his finger as the flesh was sliced open by long, sharp claws. He cast a glare at the odd-eyed cat who was watching him intently. The two stared at each other for several seconds before the cat turned its head away, finding this game boring, and jumped off the female to sit on top of that large book. It was clear the feline was expecting something for its eyes still remained solo upon him.

The monster continued scowling at the cat before maneuvering his body so that he could take the female's weight in his arm. She was not as light as she appeared, but weight meant little to his enhanced body.

He was careful as he hooked one arm underneath the knees and the other behind the middle of her back. Her face rested in the crook of his neck and her warm breath brushed against the skin making the monster shiver unintentionally. He wanted to fix her so that she wasn't leaning and breathing on him like that, but there was only so much room in here.

The white cat leaped up so that it was sitting on the female's lap, the book coming with it, making the female groan softly as solid object pressed against her stomach. The cat sat on top of the book while looking up at the monster, smug once again as if it knew something he did not. He really did not want to bring the cat with him, the girl and the book were enough, but it seemed like it was a package deal.

He could always toss it later. The muscles in his legs pushed off the ground sending him several feet into the air, he pushed off the incoming wall to leap higher. He reached the top building in seconds. The cold air hit him harder and felt the female press her body closer to his own, the monster blamed the cold for his reddening cheeks and ears. The female's...assets were rather hard to ignore.

As he began moving again, clearing a large gap in the rooftops, he swore that cat was laughing at him, it was that or hacking up a hairball. He would never understand what Sebastian saw in cats. He assumed his early transgressions would be forgiven or forgotten with this cat, how he was going to explain the female and the book he didn't know. He had time to think as he cleared rooftop after rooftop, heading home. Unaware of the eyes that watched his retreating figure with burning envy.

* * *

 **Let me know what you think with a review. The blonde woman is not Lizzy, she just looks like her. This AU is a blend of the Victorian Era and Modern.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

He had his head tilted backward as he stared at the sky. It was ever so rare theses days that he had a chance to look up at the sky. The clouds were grey, ominous and threatening, they were storm clouds and nothing like the fluffy white cotton balls that were in the sky during the day. The way the snow is sprinkled down from a grey, clouded sky and floats to the ground with grace and elegance, so pure.

The man, despite being a demon, did enjoy looking at the snow, watching it fall from the sky. The ravenette turned his dark red eyes away from the sky to stare at the passing pedestrians below. It was well past midnight, but humans still wandered the streets at this hour. In another time, years in the past, most humans would have been sleeping at his hour. His master would have been slumbering at this time.

Sebastian rotated his head to look through the open doors that led inside to the penthouse apartment. He wasn't sure where his young master had gotten to, but the order to remain in the apartment still resonated through his seal keeping him in place.

Sebastian pushed off the rail of the balcony and stepped back inside, shutting the cold air and snow outside while locking the doors. Since his master has lost his soul and Sebastian stuck in an eternal contract with him, things have changed mildly between them. Ciel changed more than himself, he seemed to be constantly stuck in a cycle of anger and violence. Ciel was cold. Detached. Numb. He had nothing to live for, nor anything to die for. He maintained a steady hatred for most things, yet he was more apathetic to everything.

Sebastian was unable to fully emphasize with his young master seeing as he had wished for death and had gotten eternal life in return. He couldn't bring himself to understand what it was he was going through, even as a demon Ciel still maintained many human qualities which made him quite a puzzle to him. The master still remained the selfish imbecile he had been years ago.

No one cared about how Sebastian felt being stuck serving the brat for eternity. Over one hundred years have passed since Ciel's damnation and still Sebastian remained at his side like the loyal servant he was. Despite his internal dislike, the demon had to admit that there was no one else he'd rather serve for the rest of his existence. He was -dare he say- fond of his master.

The man frowned at this thought and turned to walk through the living room and into the kitchen. He stopped, however, when heard it. It was faint and almost soundless, any normal human would have missed it. The older demon knew this sound like he knew his own heartbeat. His head slanted itself as he remained still and simply listened...there! The man's body blurred from sight, moving too quick for the naked eye to catch, reappearing behind the couch.

He struck instantly with an outstretched hand, but his fingers did not connect with the soft fur of the animal he was expecting, instead he grabbed just air. The ruby eyes traveled in the direction of the beast now sitting on the arm at the other end of the couch.

Sebastian had to admit that the feline was rather stunning, above the average cats and housepets. Delicate. Long, thin legs; Small, fragile paws; Lithe, thin build. Much of this cat looks much too easily broken. The cat clearly has amazing speed in her paws, though, that can be seen in almost every aspect of her build. Large ears, long tail, and soft eyes are also brilliant features of this feline.

Her toned body seemed perfect for doing any movement possible, acrobatic or not. She appeared rather petite compared to the average she-cats. Her snow white fur looked soft and sleek, and he imagined the velvet-like texture is so alluring when she brushes up beside you. Even the way she meowed was beautiful, gentle voice and somewhat high pitched, and it's almost too much, to look at her and hear her voice.

He was quickly overcome with the urge to pet the beauty and see if her paws were soft as they looked, however, even with enhanced speed and accuracy the cat continued to elude him. He probably should have been more concerned on where the cat had come from and how she had gotten inside, but he was too concern with just touching the cat. She was as agile as she looked and the way she was able to contort her body astounded him.

After his thirtieth attempt(he was keeping track) and fail to get his hand on the cat he retired for the moment. He was on the ground resting on his knees watching the cat who had settled a good eight feet away from him. The two watch each other unblinking for a long time. He quickly deduced the cat as blind seeing that up closer her eyes had a milky tint to them. A blind cat who could avoid a demon?

That was a little strange. Sebastian took the time to gather his thoughts as he took in a breath of air through his nose. The cat had several different scents clinging to her body, but her own scent was the most pungent. It confused him as it stabbed at his sense of smell. The perfume was heavy and almost warm like a fire yet cool and fresh like rain, he couldn't exactly describe it correctly but knew that it was a very...tempting scent.

He was yanked out of his musing when the door opened. At once, he recognized his young master as soon as he stepped in the doorway. The master's steps were louder and sharper than usual, causing Sebastian to take his eyes off the cat while rising to stand. His master's silhouette came into sight before Ciel stepped into the room himself. The stench of old blood mixed within Ciel's, it was a plain stench marking the blood as humans'.

A feminine smell clung to him, but not as strongly as the blood. Sebastian's eyed dropped down to the female laying limp in his master's arms.

The heartbeat that resonated weakly said she was alive, however barely clinging to life. He remained a silent observer as Ciel bypassed him to reach the couch, setting the female on it rather abruptly as if her touch burned. The raven haired demon walked up behind the smaller one and peered down at the pale woman. Her dress style was greatly outdated and the chain onto her wrist was an uncommon sight, the fact that a large book was attached to it made no sense to him. He assumed that it was of great value to its owner.

 **"Master?"** He spoke breaking the silence that had descended upon them. The cat was forgotten for a second, although brought up again a heartbeat later as Ciel ignored his butler's question and took to glaring at the cat if only looks could kill.

 **"How are you here?"** Ciel had found the smug feline quite vexing along the way to the penthouse and so had 'accidently' dropped her from a seven storey building on the way here. How the cat was now sitting the living room maddening, he was very tempted to throw her outside again when Sebastian spoke up.

 **"Master, if I may inquire why you have brought-"**

 **"No."** Ciel cut off the demon with one short word. Ciel didn't exactly enjoy being questioned and the fact that he didn't have a clear answer himself frustrated him. **"The cat what is it?"** He changed the topic yet knew it would not remain changed for too long.

 **"I can not say for sure, Master. All I know for sure is that it's not an ordinary cat."** An answer with so much flaw would of at one time demanded more from him, but Ciel merely accepted it. **"What of the book?"** Sebastian avoided the topic of the blonde for now and settled on something he assumed would get him an answer on why the female was here.

 **"I found it, the girl was attached to it and the cat."** He explained without breaking eye contact with the cat. **"The book is written in glyphs. Can you read it?"**

At the question, Sebastian reached out for the book with a gentle hand from where it rested on the blonde's stomach but found the cuff around it. He was once again lost seeing as the cuff was closed having figured his master had broken the metal in order to read it.

 **"How did you open it?"** Sebastian glanced over to his master as the younger one tore his eyes away from the cat to give his butler a particular look. Ciel had been assuming that it would just open itself as it had done for him. He turned away from the feline to assist Sebastian. He didn't get very far for razor like incisors sunk deep into his left hand. He moved to grab at the pissed off cat with his right, but like Sebastian only touched air.

The cat had released him instantaneously and as soon as her paws touched the ground, bolted away and onto unconscious blonde. The back was arched and the lips were peeled away from the fangs as she hissed at them.

Ciel's own rage quickly engulfed him as he looked at the puncture wound that pussed and leaking with scarlet liquid. It oozed out of the hand and leaked down pale skin before falling to the floor. The eye took on that demonic appearance as Ciel went to snatch at the defensive cat. His wrist was caught in strong yet loose grip as Sebastian cast him a rather disapproving look.

 **"If you miss you might injure the girl further."** He kept his tone calm as he released his young master. Ciel scoffed though made no move to grab the cat again. The cat made no move to settled as she continued to hiss and spit at both males. Ciel's wound was already healing, the skin and muscles stitching itself back together. He still wanted to murder the cat which seemed to visible show itself for the cat wasn't relaxing in the slightest. As he opened his lips to order Sebastian to remove the cat an unearthly voice interrupted him.

 **"Shiina."** It wasn't more than a whisper and sounded airy and angelic as if she were singing. It was an enchanting sound that had both demons turning their eyes in the blonde's direction. She stirred a bit in her slumber, her face was scrunched as if she were having a bad dream. That name was uttered again and the cat lowered her hackles. One ear had twisted backward to catch the breathy sound in the right ear, it soothed the animal at once.

The feline slipped off the book it was standing over and moved to lay itself on the blonde's chest. The girl's facial expression returned to one of peace as the cat's weight and warmth reassured her. The older demon deduced that the cat's name must be Shiina and noticed something off the second time he glanced at the cat. It looked as if the tail has split in half right down the middle. It now had two identical tails waving back and forth behind it. It seemed that normal was never something he and his master would ever obtain.

* * *

 **Not as good as the first chapter, but I tried. Let me know what you think. We'll be learning more about Shiina and the girl and learn what the book is for in the next chapter when the girl wakes up, Undertake might be making an appearance too.**

 **Oh and Sorry if Ciel and Sebastian are somewhat OOC, I haven't watched the show in a while but I am trying to keep them somewhat in character along with more modernized a little.  
I don't own black butler, I wish I did.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

The raven haired man was once again kneeling on the hardwood floor and observing the feline who was currently passing a ball of yarn back and forth between her tiny paws. They, or rather the cat, kept at least eight feet away from the demon at all times besides the time they played tag then she would draw him in as close as possible and then evade him with a type of grace and speed that was unmatched.

The she-cat appeared completely relaxed, dropping her guard for the moment. However, appearances were deceiving as Sebastian had learned earlier the cat never allowed her guard to fall around him. It's been three days since the Master has brought the blonde and the cat here. In those three days, the girl has slept nonstop and the cat continued to...change. She no longer looked like a simple house cat.

All four of the paws looked as if they had been dipped in a bucket of black paint up to the ankle, both tails appeared ringed in black, and the ears had also turned completely black. At the center of the she-cat's forehead was a black diamond, she was rather exotic looking for a cat and the two tails made her stand out. Yet, Sebastian still could not tell what sort of creature she was, he's never seen such a cat before.

After remaining kneeling for at least ten minutes, Sebastian decided that it might be wise to get something done. His master has been complaining more than usual about Sebastian's lack of attention whenever the cat was around. He would admit that she was a bit of a distraction, he's broken several glasses, put on his master's attire inside out, and even been **late** for dinner.

The demon would admit that he was a tad off track when it comes to cats, but this was just plain unheard of. There was something about this lovely creature that threw the demon utterly off his game. This was something he'd have to further ponder at another time, it was about time for his master to be returning home. Nightfall had once again claimed this side of the world and once again his master had left on a walk, but the boy was always punctual with his return unless something kept him that was.

As Sebastian moved to stand up his dark red eyes widen when he found his limbs unable to move. He tried once more to rise and again his body did not budge from his position. Well, this was new. The cat, Shiina, had stopped playing with her ball of yarn and was watching him, or at least had her eyes in his general direction. His thoughts on her being blind had been confirmed when he noticed that although she always looked in the right direction, the eyes never moved to fully meet anyone's eyes nor did they moved at all, it was her head that often swerved in the right direction.

Shiina left the yarn ball to pad closer to him and then around him, it was only then that Sebastian perceived that there was a third presence within the room. Little white feet were seen moving before the hem of skirts hide them from his view. He tipped his head back and brought his eyes up to meet the curious jaded ones before him. The girl's long blonde hair nearly swept the floor as she continued to move in a circle around him.

She finally halted and crouched down, wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her chin on her knees as if hold her head up was to much trouble. Shiina jumped up from the floor and draped herself over the blonde's head with a meow. The cat was rather perky and happy to see the blonde up and moving.

He had to confess that the pair together were adorable, more the cat then the girl and once again he had the strongest urge to grab the cat, his restraints wouldn't allow him to move though. After feeling that a decent amount of time of neither of them talking had passed, Sebastian struck up a conversation of sorts.

 **"So you have finally awoken."** The statement was met with a blank stare before the slow head nod. **"The reason I can not move is that your doing?"** He got a longer blank stare and an even slower head nod as if she had to think about that for few seconds. **"Will you release me?"** The answer this time came in the form of a stare and a head shake no. If the girl was trying to infuriate the demon she was doing a very good job of it.

 **"Why not?"** He made sure not to ask a yes or no question this time and was waiting for an answer. She shrugged. He took in a deep breath of air and let out in a long exasperated sigh. There was a meow from Shiina and the girl parted her lips and her voice came out in an enthralling monotone, there was a lilt there that was unheard of in Sebastian's ears.

 **"Glyph."** She reached out her hand and touched the ground a few inches from Sebastian. As soon as her fingers came in contact the floor below him lit up, a light blue circle with some sort of symbol at the center rotated underneath him. There were chains wrapped around his whole being several times over, they clearly not normal chains since they appeared to be made up of the same blue energy that powered the glyph. Sebastian had lost his smile long ago and now was growing increasingly concerned.

The pupils within his eyes went slit as they glowed with demonic power, he struggled, assuming that the chains would simply break if enough force was pushed on them. At first, there was the sound of chains rattling with strain put on them, but his victory was short-lived as a second set of chains flew out of the glyph and wrapped around him even tighter.

The girl now had her whole hand pressed against the ground instead of her fingertips, the blank look had transformed into something of awe that vanished as her head whipped around, blonde locks brushing against Sebastian's face with how quickly she swung her head around.

For the second time that day Sebastian was left perplexed as the girl shot her hand out and a second glyph appeared with a new symbol entrapped in the middle. This one shined black and had thinner dark chains shooting out and wrapping around the body of his master as he entered the room. The look on Ceil's face was priceless, but something to dwell on later.

He and his master were currently tied up, literally, and Sebastian for once was stumped on how to get out of this mess. The girl had turned her head away from him and was solely focused at his master. Ciel looked rather vexed as his only visible eye was bleeding red and the pupil a mere slit. There was a touch of fear at the look that was cast at her, but she did not lose her focus and was reassured as the cat atop her head shifted into a more comfortable position, Shiina wouldn't let anyone hurt her.

 **"What is this? Release me!"** Ciel snapped at the blonde who cringed at his loud voice. Sebastian spotted how the blonde reacted to negative emotions, he even though irked, has spoken in a calm and composed manner where his spoiled master spoke with anger and demands, which was normal for the arrogant little pric—brat. They might be going around this wrong, unfortunately, on an emotional level he couldn't follow what the girl would be feeling, logically he would be on the defense in unusual territory. She had chained them up but didn't seem to be making any moves to hurt them.

 **"Would you like some tea?"** There was a smile in his tone now that he had some clue on how to handle this problem. At his question, the girl turned and looked at him. **"How about we sit down and have some tea while discussing all of this? I must say I am very intrigued on how these bindings work Miss—"** It took a few seconds but as expected he was given a name.

 **"Cordelia."** Sebastian felt the chains loosen a little more and found he could breathe a little easier.

 **"Very well then, Miss Cordelia would you like to join us for some tea? There shall be sweets."** The word sweets sealed the deal, the glyphs slowly vanished and the chains shattered into blue and black glitter before fading away as well. Sebastian adjusted his attire and then led the way to the dinner table, leaving Ciel standing there.

He sat Cordelia down with Shiina still on her head and excused himself to head to the kitchen. Cordelia rearranged herself so that she was sitting on her feet, feeling a bit cold. Ciel entered moments later, his eye returning to that rich blue, as he sat down farthest from the girl and her cat somewhat regretting picking the pair up and at the same fascinated with Cordelia and her strange cat.

 **"How did you do that?"** Ciel finally spoke, breaking the somewhat awkward silence between them. Cordelia had begun staring at him the moment he had taken a seat and was continuing to do so making him a little uncomfortable.

 **"What?"** He was doing better than Sebastian had when questioning her, but was getting the same one worded respond.

 **"You summoned chains from your palm."  
**

 **"Oh."  
**

 **"Well, how did you do it?"  
**

 **"What?"  
**

 **"Summon chains from your palm?"**

 **"Yes."** Ciel's eye had gone back to red after the five-second conversation making Cordelia lean a little away from the table and Shiina hiss at Ciel. The younger demon was starting to wonder if this was really worth the mystery.

Sebastian returned with a tray of tea and small cakes, after passing them out he took his rightful place at his master's side. Ciel didn't often eat because of the lack of taste and the fact that it never filled him, but over time it's become a chore that he handles in public. Why he was eating now...perhaps for the sake of normalcy. It's been a very very long time since he sat down with anyone over tea.

His thoughts slowly drained him of his anger once again and his eye returned to normal. His attention went back to Cordelia who was staring at the cup and plate set down in front of her like it might bite. Sebastian couldn't help but wonder what she was doing when she removed Shiina from her head and set her down in front the cup of tea. The cat sniffed it before lapping at it. After a second she meowed and moved onto the small cakes, after taking a bite of each one and meowing only then did Cordelia pick up the tea and drink and take a bite out of the cakes.

The two came to a conclusion at the same time, she was having the cat check for poison. It was rare for anyone to do that in this day and age, but you wouldn't be poisoned unless you were some kind of threat right? As that very thought ran through Ciel's head, he found that he had a very particular taste in his mouth. It was a taste he recalled, a spicy citrus flavor taste that was sharp and fresh, a hard to describe taste that is unforgettable once tasted.

That's when it hit him, this taste it was Earl Grey Tea. However, he hadn't even taken a sip from his cup and even then it's never tasted like this. A sweet taste quickly mixed it into the taste of tea in his mouth and made him to gag, it was not a good taste. He must have been making a face for Sebastian was look at him with concern. The demon butler was unable to voice his concern for that airy monotone was calling his attention.

 **"Lady Grey Tea? Do you have any?"** This was the first time that either of them had heard her say more than one word. Sebastian recovered quickly and answered her.

 **"Forgive me, but I don't believe I have any in stock."** Cordelia's lower lip jutted out as the facade expression gave away to one of a child who had just been told she was not allowed to have something she loved. It almost made Sebastian want to go out and fetch some for her, almost. Considering what she had done with him here he didn't want to leave his master alone with the girl, demon or not. The cat, Shiina meowed and Cordelia turned to look at her.

 **"Okay, Shiina said that I should apologize for chaining you up because it's rude considering how hospitable you're being. So I am sorry."** It wasn't hard to tell that she did fully understand why she was apologizing nor what she had done wrong but was doing what she was told because she was told. Neither demon seemed any longer concerned with the apology and more the fact that she could talk to the cat.

 **"She talks to you?"** Ciel asked, seriously hoping they weren't going to go in a circle again some answers would be nice.

 **"She can talk to you too. She says she doesn't like talking to idiots and perverts."** Both looked over to Shiina who was sitting there acting as if they were _privileged_ to even have her at the table. She was most definitely a cat, but what kind eluded them.

 **"What kind cat is Shiina?"  
**

 **"The monstrous kind."** That answer gave little for Ciel to go on other than what he already knew, Shiina wasn't normal and apparently, neither was her owner.

 **"Where is that book you had chained to arm?"  
**

 **"It's still there just smaller."** She lifted up an arm and pulled back her sleeve a bit to show the bracelet around her wrist with the charm sized book.

 **"How did you summon the chains?"** This question took a moment longer to answer as she had to think about it and look at Shiina who meowed something to her.

 **"I am the Keeper."**

 **"Keeper?"  
**

" **Yes."  
**

 **"Care to elaborate?"  
**

 **"Shiina said that I should not bother explaining since you're too simple minded to follow."**

 **"Where and year were you born in?"** The question this time came from Sebastian, abrupt and curious, mostly to his master's temper in place.

 **"Japan 1582."** There was no thinking about it Cordelia spoke the truth. It was clear that such a thing was not supposed to be known considering how Shiina hissed at Cordelia and nipped her finger. The girl flinched and pulled her hand away, looking lost as to why she had been nipped. **"What?"** The cat gave a screeching meow and puffed up her fur. **"No one has ever asked me that question before. You've never told me how to answer it."** There they both gained a bit of insight, the cat prepped the girl in how to answer questions which meant she was blunt and spoke without thinking.

Lying must not come naturally to her. Sebastian and Ciel picked the pair apart piece by piece but had a long away before the puzzle was even close to finished. Questions must have been done for Cordelia suddenly rose to her feet with Shiina riding on her head again.. **"** **Adrian** **Crevan** , **I need to find** **him**." She began walking out of the room, although before her feet the met the doorway a new glyph appeared, glowing a bright green, she stepped through the glyph and she and glyph were gone just like that.


	4. Chapter 4

Night had fallen fast upon the land. No more than an hour ago the sky was painted with hues of red, orange and pink, but all color had faded leaving only a matt black canvas with no stars to be looked upon. The darkness was thick and even the town and street lights that line the path did little to brighten up the world. Other than the darkness and himself all that seemed to exist was the chilly wind that's harsh bite could be felt through his coat.

He could feel the hairs on his arm raised and the bite of the wind had left its mark in the form of small bumps that were tingling in his arms, but its bite was more than flesh deep. His blood ran cold through his veins and his bones were chilled. Thankfully, Ciel wasn't one who minded the cold all that much. It was most likely below zero at one point in time he wouldn't be caught dead outside in weather like this, but it truly did not bother him all that much now.

The young demon was standing on top of a roof, the eyepatch had been placed his right pocket as both demonic eyes were needed for this task. Time was irrelevant for someone with longevity, however, for Ciel the last three hours of searching the town for a strange blonde female and her freaky cat had been dragging on forever. As much as he felt that he was wasting his time, he also felt that he needed to find the girl.

It was an insistent tug in his chest to find her, he wasn't concerned for her wellbeing. He barely knew anything about her and had spent very little time with her, but this tug demanded he knew of Cordelia's whereabouts. There was also the problem of that book she carried with her, the weird cat, and those tastes in his mouth.

He had yet to tell Sebastian of that occurrence and doubted that he would until he figured it out himself. With a frustrated sigh, Ciel turned his head in the direction of the man who appeared behind him. The dark haired butler had taken a knee with his head slightly bent downwards as if it was an offense to look the younger demon in the eyes.

It appeared as a knight bending the knee to his king, Ciel's lips formed themselves into a disappointed scowl when he found that there was no blonde girl nor a cat with him. Sebastian, even if Ciel wouldn't admit it, was somewhat of a perfectionist. It didn't matter what task Ciel gave his butler, it was done. The fact that even Sebastian was unable to locate the pair was alarming and grating.

He turned away from the demon and went back to overlooking the scenery from the roof of a home. It remained silent for a while, a few passing cars disturbed the stillness. Ciel finally gathered his thoughts and turned back to Sebastian, but before he could voice them a scream broke through the air. The first cries were undoubtedly terror, but not the shrill cries of a movie theater, the cries of one with eyes locked wide and every muscle rigid.

The next were of pain, garbling and pitiful. Ciel was already off the roof top and sailing towards the ground, as soon his feet touched solid ground and recovered from the impact, he bolted off to quick for the naked eye to keep track of. The world around him blurred into colors, the only solid thing became the butler running slightly ahead of him. They located the scent rather than the sound, the metallic odor was one he had grown accustomed to over the last several years.

The two spotted as a children's park came into view, there were body parts littering the ground. There was, what appeared to be, a man's torso draped over the iron bar of the swing set, with the inners hanging out. There were a few arms and legs resting on the frozen earth, two heads were sitting side by side on a play set. The blood was splattered all over, soaking everything. Ciel's eyes had widened in astonishment, whereas Sebastian merely walked around the dismembered humans with only a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

 **"Master."** The boy was pulled out of his head as Sebastian called to him. The young demon had an expression of weariness as he walked after the older one. It was further in the back of the park there was where they find her. The blonde, Cordelia was crouching on the ground, the hem of her dress was stained crimson and they could see small footprints, as if someone had stepped in wet red paint and tracked it through the grass, leading to her.

Cordelia had her arms wrapped around her knees and her chin on her thighs. There was a brightly lit blue glyph shining on the grass, similar to the one that had held Sebastian, this time the chains were wrapped around a woman. She looked like an average civilian, someone who had just finished working a night shift at a fast food restaurant.

She was dangling above the ground, the chains had slithered around the legs and arms like snakes strangling their prey, execution style. Every few seconds the chains would constrict, stretching and pulling the limbs to make the woman whimper with pain and Cordelia just watched calmly.

 **"Help me! Please help me."** The woman's voice was hoarse from screaming, her eyes weakly falling on the two approaching males. Cordelia had a grimace on her face as she rose without bothering to see who was intruding. The chains suddenly began adding more pressure, constricting around the woman's arms and legs making her scream again.

 **"Let her go,"** Ciel demanded as he walked up behind Cordelia. If the doll-like female heard him she gave no acknowledgment, only continued making the chains tighter until they ripped into the flesh and make the skin weep red. The woman's screaming turned into a sob. **"Cordelia!"** His voice took on a more frantic nature however it was clear that the girl had no intentions of stopping.

His breath caught in his throat as he tried not to retch at the sight. He wanted to look away, _needed_ to tear his eyes away, but he could not. The left leg went first, the whole entire leg was split clean off the lower torso. A wave of nausea hit him hard as he watched the life liquid spew and gush out of the gaping wound.

The woman sounded like a dying animal as she howled and screeched, the rest of the limbs followed one by one until only a screaming head and torso remain, but seconds later the corpse's life finally faded into nothing. The blue chains of energy vanished as did the glyphs as Cordelia seemed to be finished. She got to her feet with splashes of scarlet here and there on the black Victorian gown and across her cheek.

Within the timeframe of her next heartbeat, Ciel was standing directly in front of her. That was the breaking point of his patience. At that moment, he was blinded by a five-course serving of rage that tasted bitter, yet surprisingly satisfying. He reached out without thinking, the black nails had sharpened into long pointed tipped claws that would have wrapped around the girl's pale throat and slipped into the smooth skin.

His hand never made contact with the blonde, instead, hot and sharp agony cut through his wrist as a slender hand with white claws wrapped around it and snapped the bone. He yelped in pain, the pressure on his wrist was released as Sebastian slide forwards, delivering a side kick that would have connected with a head had the attacker not blocked it with a forearm.

Still, the force of the blow sent the attacker flying ten feet backward although regaining the footing rather rapidly. Sebastian's guard was constantly up, but he took a brief moment to glance at his Master. Ciel had fallen backwards on a knee, holding his now broken wrist against his chest. Demon or not, getting injured still hurt and the pain was not something he was exactly used to experiencing with Sebastian constantly at his side.

He got a grip on his pain quickly enough and turned his visible vermilion eye, the other being blocked by his bangs, to shoot a glower at Cordelia who had used the minor brawl as a way to put more distance between them. The girl's face was a facade, but her eyes looked glossy and the beginning of stubborn tears were starting to form in the corners of each eye as if she were in pain.

That caused a stir of uncertainty in Ciel, but the sight of the second woman recovering obtained his full attention. She looked to be in her early twenties and was a few inches taller then Cordelia, but a few inches shorter than Ciel. The hair was pulled back into a high ponytail that reached her waist, the clothing was out of date and not something you'd see many wearing unless they lived in a traditional Japanese family. T

he kofurisode kimono was a kimono with the distinctive feature of having long sleeves that can go all the way down to the ground, however, her sleeves only went slightly past her waist. It was dominantly black with a white floral pattern. The woman's most distinguishing features were not her odd clothing nor her clearly inhuman beauty.

No, it was the black cat ears that sat on her head and fluffy white tail with black stripes that waved lazily behind her. As she prowled closer the lightly misty mismatched eyes were directed towards them, but not on them. The woman settled herself in between Cordelia and the two males, her lips were curved in a mischievous smile like that of a Cheshire cat.

 **"So am I sending them back to hell or what?"** The voice was that of a low alto, mature and rough nothing like the blonde behind her.

 **"Your the one who said we had to repay their hospitality. How is banishing them going to do that?"** Cordelia sounded genuinely confused on how banishing the pair to hell was going to help them.

 **"Well yeah, but that was before the younger one tried to maim you."** Shiina's tail lashed back and forth expelling her aggression with the matter.

 **"Yes, but he thought I was killing a human. The Nephilim and the Fallen are tricksters."** The conversation was slightly going over Ciel's head as he was still trying to process who the cat woman was. **"Come along, Shiina."** Cordelia started walking away and with some reluctance, Shiina trailed after to her. As glyph like portal appeared once again Ciel got his bearing back.

 **"Wait! You can't leave."** Ciel's wrist was already healing itself back together, but not as quickly as it would have healed had he been an older demon, his demonic powers would further develop and grow as he did. The two female paused in their exit and turned back to face him and Sebastian, Shiina had a rather feral grin on her lips as if she had been hoping he'd say that and Cordelia just looked mildly lost as to why they weren't allowed to go anywhere? Had she forgotten something?

 **"Three days, you remained in my care for three days. You say that you'll repay me?"** Cordelia's head slanted itself like a confused dog but was following so far and so nodded her head in confirmation. **"I have questions for you. For the next three days, I get to follow you and you will answer my questions. I will count that as payment."** Cordelia had to think about the offer, most would have asked for more than just answers. She turned and looked over to Shiina, the woman was often blunt and outspoken with her thoughts.

 **"Eh...I guess we could use the help. This time period is harder to understand the others. It might move things along quicker and it's not like we even know where we're going."** Shiina didn't normally take to strangers, she was the mistrustful and distrustful type, but the two demons must have done something to get approval within her eyes if she was allowing them to come along. After weighing her options the blonde turned her jaded orbs to the rich blue one.

 **"Okay, deal."** The large glyph that had been glowing disappeared from sight, a new pure white one surfaced underneath Shiina's feet. It glowed so brightly that it blinded both demons, by the time they got their sight back, in the woman's place the two-tailed cat sat. Shiina jumped up onto Cordelia's shoulders and sprawled herself across the blonde like a scarf. **"So what do you want to know?"**


	5. Chapter 5

The shopping mall was the same temperature inside no matter what the season is. The light is the same, the scent, the polished floor, the tense faces on the shoppers. Only the piped music and the fashions change. People aren't people in here, they're consumers. They see one another as obstacles - both to walk around and wait behind for a turn to reach the tills.

The only smiling faces are the ones who sell, their humanity used like a crude fishing line to real the buyers in. It's a friendly enough place if you've got digits on your card if you can line the pockets of the purveyors. The shopping mall is sensory overload. Only overtures for purchases are permitted in here; the messages and carefully styled images to seduce consumers are wherever the eyes may fall.

There is everything anyone wanted and very little that was needed. To move through the crowd means getting closer to other people than the monster would usually allow, On a normal day, the dark blue haired demon wouldn't be caught dead in a mall. However, today he was forced to make an exception as he walked through the suffocating floors of erratic heartbeats and loud voices.

The visible eye flickered downwards to look at the head of blonde hair that looked almost golden in the warm light that streamed through the windows overhead. She was wearing a pair of jeans, sneakers, and beige sweater that clung to her figure. Two scrawny arms were wrapped securely around his left arm, the petite and delicate frame was pressed heavily into his side, and her large green eyes wandered every which way, drinking in everything the mall had to offer.

Cordelia hadn't moved more than an inch away from him after they entered the mall. She was pressed so close that more than once she had faltered, tripping over Ciel's foot, but the demon was always able to right her before she fell flat on her face. He was sure that if it weren't so crowd, she would have taken off on her own and spoken to every friendly face she could find. He was still fathoming how he had allowed this to happen, it was utterly that a cat's fault. He's never wanted to drown an animal so much.

* * *

 **4 hours earlier**

 _"So, it's been decided that you shall take the Miss out and stock up on proper attire for her. While in the mean time, Sebastian and I shall search for any leads on Adrian Craven." He had jumped at the sound of the voice in his head, low and demanding while looking up at the cat seated on his butler's shoulder. If Sebastian had heard anything he gave no indication.  
_

 _"Why can't you take her?" He asked out loud while glaring at the cat with his sole eye.  
_

 _"Because, I still don't have a fix on this timeline. You know how it works and more about the odd machinery within it. Just take her shopping and obtain the proper clothing for her. From what I have seen the attire the females of this generation wear are not..." The cat seemed to be struggling to find the correct wording to describe some of the more unseemly clothing women and girls wore. "Well, they aren't what my Miss wears so make sure she fits in, besides Bastion says humans in this time take their females out shopping all times on these date things."  
_

* * *

Ciel has found that taking Cordelia shopping was possibly the most embarrassing thing he's done in his long life, and he's done cross-dressing before. The girl had no clue what anything was and was quite frankly rather helpless. They spent over an hour in _Victoria's Secret_ with her trying on bra after bra. She had no clue how to get the thing off and on and had insisted that Ciel helping her take if off after she had managed to put it on.

At the memory, Ciel could feel the heat rising to his cheeks, to his surprise she hadn't been as well-endowed as he had first thought. As it crossed his mind he swiftly shook his head back and forth to erase such thoughts. He was going far too deep into a place he didn't think he actually wanted to go.

 **"What wrong?"** Ciel paused in his steps, feeling warm fingers brush along the side of his right cheek. He swiftly jerked his face out of Cordelia's grasp and pulled away from her completely. She was too close and being as clingy as...he didn't dare even think her name as his temper grew. The two stood in a middle of a sea of people staring back at one another.

Cordelia's eyes were like a glass mirrors, simply reflecting what was in his own, unable to fully understand the situation. They might have stood there for eternity if not for the sound of a stomach rumbling, the blonde's arm swiftly reached out and encircled her mid-section. Her eyebrows had wrinkled up with confusion while she looked down at her stomach. Ciel's temper had faded as swiftly as it had risen as he looked at the blonde, it was the little things that she did reminding him of another lifetime.

 **"Let's go."** He reluctantly extended a hand allowing Cordelia to reach out and grab it. It would start with a hand, then she'd wrapped an arm, the both her arms, before finally plastering herself to his side. As annoying as it was he slowly getting used to it. Cordelia found a small place filled to the brim with different sweets.

After ordering for her, the pair took a seat at a table in the back. They sat across from each other, Ciel stared out of a nearby window and Cordelia's eyes wandered around, sucking in anything she could see with her emeralds. Once her sweets had arrived, Ciel was startled out of his window glaring as a new taste brushed his tongue.

At first, it was brief but grew stronger until it bloomed into a rich vanilla, he turned his head to watch Cordelia drinking a milkshake with her lips pulled upwards into the barest of smiles. This was the first time he's seen her do that but move on to a more important matter.

 **"How are you doing that?"** The question came out as more of a demand and had the girl flinching again. The large eyes lifted from where she had been staring at her drink and up to meet the royal blue of his own.

 **"What am I doing?"** Ciel's eye cast itself downwards and away from the green ones. Cordelia went back to slurping, however, was discontent with Ciel's behavior and so pushed her shake away from her and sighed softly. **"Would you like to hear it again?"** She's found that the young demon was in the best of mood when his mind was at work. She could understand that to a point, the needing to keep busy.

He gave no vocal answer but return his eye to her own. She's lost count how many times she told him her tale since last night yet didn't mind retelling it for it felt like she was getting something off her chest. **"I was born in the** **Sengoku period,** **a period in Japanese history marked by social upheaval, political intrigue, and near-constant military conflict and not to mention the increasing amount of yokai plagued the land. I have no clue who my father was, but my mother came from a small village with a scare bloodline.**

 **The village was well hidden and protected from the eyes of outsiders, rarely did anyone ever set foot outside for it was not considered a necessity. T** **he people become independent from stepping outside due to being able to harvest crops and hunt for meat from inside the village's limits. My mother worked as a maid to a higher up in the village.**

 **Yet by the age of sixteen, she was exiled from the village on supposedly false accusations of murdering her employer. Sometime during her exile, she met my father and was taken to his village where they planned to live a happy life. However, he was called to war and never returned, she had planned to begin her travels again wanting to see the world.**

 **That came to a halt when she found she was pregnant with me, she remained in the village deciding to have me and then leave, although the village was attacked and take over by a warlord before her plans could be put into motion. My mother was kidnapped and became a prized treasure by a man named Tokugawa Ieyasu. She reminded his prisoner for three years with me."** The blond paused, waiting a moment to see if the monster across from had anything he wanted to ask. The several other times she relayed the story he often had a question or two, but right now he seemed focused on listening.

 **"She vanished during the third year and I never saw her again. Tokugawa adopted me as his daughter, he kept me locked away in a room full of books. So I spent a great deal of my time reading. I found that where it took me five days to read every book there it would take a normal person five years. Tokugawa said he took my mother because he had heard a myth that the people from her village possessed unusual abilities.**

 **He was correct in that deduction, I have perfect, superhumanly keen observational skills, and can notice even the smallest details. I have inhuman senses, intuition, comprehension, adaptability, perception, and investigation skills, deductive/inductive reasoning skills, strategic/tactical skills, analytical skills, problem-solving skills, logic skills, and calculating skills.**

 **I can easily and perfectly analyze multiple streams of information simultaneously, and perform an infinite amount of calculations and simulations (from simple to unimaginably complex) simultaneously in my head without any outside aid. This allows me to practically predict the future to a very accurate degree, quickly solve any puzzle or problem, and work any situation into in my favor by instantly coming up with perfect plans (adjusting if necessary) and always knowing the right move needed for success.**

 **I can** **read extremely quickly, and can easily read multiple books in multiple languages simultaneously and recall limitless amounts of complex information as well as easily understands whatever I learn, and never forgets it. My mother's bloodline gave me** **superhuman mental abilities. Tokugawa made me his prized Tactician, I won countless battles for him in return for him supposedly saving me... from what I still do not know.**

 **But these abilities took a toll on me both physically and mentally, I am often** **plagued with apocalyptic and prophetic nightmares, sometimes they would get so bad that I would be unable to keep anything within my stomach, I would lose sleep, and slowly I found such stress and sights was killing my body and mind. There were too many terrible conclusions that would happen if I told Tokugawa this so I kept it to myself."  
**

 **"I fought for him for a decade, during what he promised would be our last battle, a yokai appeared, she ripped apart both armies like they were nothing, Naturally panic ensued, several someones ran into me, I fell, hit my head and lost consciousness. When I came to I met Shiina, although she didn't have a name at the time. She had the book chained around her neck, said that I was the only one who could remove it.**

 **I did so more with in mind of my own survival than to help her. The book woke up as soon as I touched it and a mysterious voice appeared in my head. The book** r **evealed that my world has undergone countless reincarnations in the past and is fated to a cycle of correction, destruction, and rebirth until "true enlightenment" is achieved and that I have** **been chosen by it to deem the people, places, and things of the current world worthy or "unworthy" of being carried over into the next. This voice was that of a magical sentient record relic book called the Book of Prophecy."** Cordelia raised her arm, showing him the small chain and charm around her wrist.

 **"I was supposed to record anything of worthiness into the book's pages for the next world by simply doing something called a Scan. I never learned exactly what a Scan is because I did not do as was requested of me. Having the world destroyed would result in my termination as well, so I decided to put a stop to whatever destruction was coming and to right any wrongs of mankind to prevent future ones.**

 **I did not and still don't understand what this "true enlightenment" is but I made it my goal to achieve it. Shiina was chained to the book to serve as both my guide and my guard, till the world's end came upon us. With Shiina's help, I made a plan and executed it flawlessly. We searched over a year all over Japan until we found old temples from a book I read, it had said that majos(witches) used the temples to summon monstrous creatures to do their bidding.**

 **I didn't care much for the history that surrounded it just that their magic was used there. I found runes on the wall, it took me a long time to copy them into the book, decode their means, and then recode them into blood glyphs that I could use using the books magic. To me the glyphs are a mystic language called spells. I managed to find spells to enhance my lifespan and give me longevity, depending on how you use the term I suppose I become immortal in a sense.**

 **Where I was weak physically I grew stronger mentally and magically. With the book I am able to harness energy to cast spells, conjure shields, and weapons, and in a way make my own magic, still even with my magic I found that I still remain to weak to take on all threats on my own. Shiina became my strength, my guardian, my friend. I made the mistake of trying to bring out her full potential with magic, her body rejected it and she lost her sight because of it."** There was a lapse in the story as a distance faraway look appeared on Cordelia's face. Her shake had melted by now and a great number of people had already left leaving the two of them inside.

Ceil's attention had been completely centered on her, so he had not noticed the time passing around him. As his blue shifted away from her he looked at the window above displaying the darkening sky. Dusk had fallen and they had spent more than enough time here. Cordelia had enough modern attire to last her a year. He uncrossed his one leg from the other and lifted the elbow that had been propped against the table to hold his chin as had he listened to her tale. **  
**

He rose in such an elegant and inhuman manner that the eyes within the room were automatically drawn to him. Ever since he became a demon he's noticed that the human eyes were naturally magnetized to him he had grown used to it. However, a particular pair of eyes had him mildly tensing his lean body. They burned through his clothes and would have seared the flesh from his back and bones if looks had the ability to do so.

His curiosity told him to look over his shoulder and find the eyes, but another sense something more demonic said it was time to leave. He moved around the table and instead of waiting for her hand, reached out with his own and grabbed Cordelia's. He often forgot that he was stronger than before and the blonde was rather tiny, he pulled and she flew up tumbling into his chest. He did not see the expression on her face as he mumbled a soft apology, he was already pulling away from her and leading the way out hastily.

The pace he had set for himself was a rather swift walk, but Cordelia's legs were moving in a rapid sprint just to keep from getting dragged behind him. Ciel continued to pull her around until he found a side door that led outside of the mall. As he opened it and stepped outside he relaxed a little bit as the feeling of being in danger faded away.

The heavy panting coming from a few feet behind him reminded him of Cordelia, he turned and released her hand as she bent over, placing both her hands on her knees, looking ready to dry heave. He stood there watching her with a touch of concern though said nothing. After she had finally got her breathing under control she righted herself and gave Ceil something more than the vacant dollish expression she always wore.

Her lips were pressed in a tight frown and her arms crossed themselves over her chest as she glowered at him. The two fell into that awkward silence again, it did not last longer than a second or two before Ciel got that spine tingle sense of danger. His body suddenly felt extremely heavy, like gravity was crashing down on him. Even with his demonic strength, his arms moved at a sluggish pace as he reached for Cordelia.

His fingers just manged to brush against the surface of her hand before everything stopped. As if someone has just hit pause on a movie, there was no sound on silence, nothing moved and everything appeared to cease to exist. Then a large silver iris with a black pupil in the shape of a thin diamond revealed itself as the Book of Prophecy awoke and enlarged itself.

The chain links clattered noisily on the sidewalk a white glyph appeared, circling around Cordelia and Ciel's feet. Just like that, crushing weight vanished, movement became possible. The demon boy reached out to catch the blonde before she could crash into the concrete, he moved behind her , pressing her back to his front, to stabilize her and offer some sense of balance. Cordelia suddenly lurches forwards and would have landed flat on her face if not for the arm around her waist, everything she's eaten in the last few hours comes up and out of her mouth in a disgusting colorful displace.

Ciel couldn't tell what was more repulsive the fact that had thrown up or the fact that he could taste the vomit in his mouth? Turning his eye away from her throw up, he finally takes notice of his surrounds. There were birds in flight overhead, cars on the roads still as stone, people on the sidewalks unmoving, time had stopped moving.

"It's been a long time, Humanity's Keeper." The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. In front of a the mall doors stood a tall man who's hair had been bathed in sunlight and eyes the same color as the sky. He wore a white suit and had the gentlest of smile on his lips.

"Not long enough, Patience."

* * *

 **This took me two days to complete and I still don't like it, but here it is.  
**

 **I've revised this chapter, I just around the end and a little bit of Cordelia's story has changed.**


	6. Chapter 6

This was impossible. No one is able to escape from the Mirror Dimension, ever present but undetected. The real world isn't affected by what happens there. Cordelia had stumbled upon the dimension by accident and has made use of it since then. She used the dimension to train, surveil, but more than often sometimes to contain threats such as the one in front of her. There was only one way in a one way out, she had the only key to that world so how had this happened.

If he was out who else had gotten out?! This wasn't supposed to happen, she had no plans for this, no warnings, no predictions. There was nothing...

"Move!"

The air was knocked out her lungs as the weight slammed into her side knocking her off balance. Ciel maneuvered his body so that he took the brunt of fall as the two tumbled to the right as a firey projectile ended up hitting and scorching the pavement instead of them. There was a pang that shot up like a shock through his spine as his back collided with the earth painfully. Ciel swiftly sat upright with the blonde pressed firmly against his chest. If this hadn't been such a dire situation he would have been a bright shade of crimson at the sight of their position.

The young demon relaxed his tight grip on the smaller blonde's waist and back when he saw the tears streaming down her face. He wanted to ask what was wrong with her, but an intense wave of heat claims his attention and draws his eye towards the sky where he sees the large flame with the likeness of a bird flying down them. He couldn't have reacted in time even if he had tried, it was moving too fast. The Book, in the form a small charm, reacts in place of its mistress, calling forth a large white glyph that served as a barrier. Without Cordelia to channel and control the magic, the glyph shatters upon impact.

Even so, it slows the lethal attack enough for Ciel to pick up Cordelia and avoid it by a mere hair. In the mall parking lot, he takes shelter behind a pickup truck and sets Cordelia on the ground. The girl is still crying for some unknown reason bringing Ciel a great deal of concern. Was she hurt somewhere? He couldn't smell blood anywhere on her and didn't see any bruises or get a whiff of burnt flesh.

Her voice comes out thin and distant, "What, but, no, it didn't, that's... not... right..." She's breathing all wrong, beginning to gasp like there's not enough oxygen in the air. She feels her ribs heaving as if bound by ropes, straining to inflate her lungs. Her head is a carousel of fears spinning out of control, each one pushing her mind into blackness. Her heart is hammering inside her chest like it belongs to a rabbit running for its skin.

Cordelia squat on the ground, trying to make everything slow to something her brain and body can cope with. The panic starts out as thin cellophane, something her fingers can pierce breathing holes in. In another second the panic is a deluge of ice water surrounding every limb, creeping higher until it passes her mouth and nose. That's when the attack becomes absolute, shutting her body down as fast as punching a biochemical reset button. Nothing here was making any sense.

"Hmm... you don't look very good, Humanity's Keeper." The blond man is standing on top the roof of the truck, his blue eyes show no empathy for the girl locked in a panic attack. He raises his arm and creates a large, triangular flame with the resemblance of a bird. The heat was too intense, Cordelia ducks her head down to try and block out the warmth as Ciel stares up at the man with a rigid jaw. He couldn't run from that at this close a range.

Patience was just about to drop his hand and let his flame fly free when a spear embedded itself into his shoulder. He caught sight of a silver-white hair before the momentum carried him backward off the rooftop. The scream tore through him like a shard of glass as the spear carried him back several feet before cutting through the shoulder bone to pierce the cement below. The man curled his fingers around the shaft of the weapon and tugged, with his immense strength freeing himself should have been nothing. It didn't budge an inch.

"Gungnir won't move unless I move it." The cat woman steps up from behind Ciel and Cordelia as if she's been there forever. "We need to leave." Shiina scoops up the panicked Cordelia in one arm and grabs Ciel's hand in the other. She takes the taller demon's hand in such a crushing grip Ciel was sure his bones were going to bruise. He trails behind her, head turning to watch as Patience tries his hardest to free himself. He fails to notice the change in the surroundings until Shiina releases his hand.

"Gungnir!" At the call, the spear pulls itself free from the earth and the shoulder and sails right into the cat woman's free hand. Ciel was distracted by the fact that it appeared as if he had just walked into a House of Mirrors, only instead of reflecting the images within it reflected fractions of the world outside.

"She calls it the Mirror Dimension." Ciel finds his faithful butler standing directly behind him. He doesn't question it as his attention returns to the distorted dimension.

"It's a parallel dimension that the MIss uses to train and fight our enemies without the public's knowledge. We need to move quickly, this place is known for rapidly distorting space and landscape. The Miss can control it with the Book, but I can't do anything other than open and close the dimension." Shiina explains before taking the lead.

The dimension is like a moving maze one Ciel was certain he would have gotten lost in without the two older demons constant supervision. In order quell his rising irritation after the pair paused to make sure he cleared a gap on a moving skyscraper, he decided now was as good as any to get some questions answered.

"What's wrong with her?" One black cat ear rotates itself to catch his words without Shiina bothering to look at him.

"Cordelia's world functions on sound logic and careful strategizing. Ever since obtaining the Book of Prophecy she has abandoned the laws and guidelines humans follow and now follows the laws and rules of magic. When said law or rule is broken and her mind is unable to give her a stable reason as to why or how it was broken she tends to fall into fits of panic. To her its as if the world is falling apart, she needs something stable and reliable to keep her grounded." Shiina answered while shifting the sleeping blonde's dead weight in her arms. "She'll be fine in time." She reassured him.

"How are you getting the spear to do that?"

The question had Shiina pausing for a second to look over her shoulder at the spear hovering behind her.

"Gungnir is a Relic although some might call it a magical artifact too. It's is sort of like the Book, magical but not sentient. A relic is basically an object imbued with magic because they have more power than most people can possibly manage on their own. Relics pick their wielders, over the last hundreds of years I've obtained several relics that have chosen to fight with me. Gungnir is one of the oldest."

"Who was that man? She called him Patience."

"I am not sure what you'd call him in this day and age. To us, he is one of the Seven Heavenly Virtues, Patience. You would call him an...angel I believe."

"I've heard of the Seven Virtues but have never met one. How are you two acquaintance with him?" Sebastian voiced with curiosity.

"For whatever reason, Patience fell from God's grace along with his six siblings, Diligence, Temperance, Charity, Chasity, Kindness, and Humility. One by one they started causing a great deal of trouble for humanity. The Book of Prophecy said they threatened the delicate balance of the world. So one by one, the Miss and I contained them by locking them in the Mirror Dimension. It took us a little over seven years to capture them all but it was done. Yet now they've gotten out or rather someone let them out."

As much as the two wanted to know who that was, Shiina calling forth the spear to cut a glyph into the palm of her hand distracted them. Pressing her bleeding palm against the walls of the dimension had the parallel dimension opening itself back to the natural dimension.

Ciel's eyes go wide and round when he realizes where they are. Vast expanses of land, outlined by a lot of bushes and trees, contain the gargantuan building of the manor. There was a long stairway that led to the entrance, where a huge fountain sat nearby. When Ciel throws a particular harsh glare in Sebastian's direction, the blind feline is quick to interject.

"You wanted to know more about us, you can't expect me to not want to know more about you. Just as the Miss told you a little about us, Sebastian told me a little more about you, little lord." The yokai's voice takes on a more teasing tone at the end. "Come now, where can I place the Miss?" She questioned while walking up the stairs and into the manor.

* * *

"I want to go." There was no change in tone nor any vocal sign that Cordelia was in any way displeased. However, the fact that she was ignoring the breakfast on her plate said otherwise. Her unwavering jaded orbs were locked on the sharp sapphire one across the long table from her.

It had been a week since Ciel's return to the Phantomhive Manor with the two new additions. Even though their agreement was three days, Ciel had been drawn in far too deeply and now that knew about the existence of magic it wasn't exactly something he was willing to toss away. Cordelia was thoroughly enjoying her time in the manor and has made plans on leaving it just yet. However, this little disagreement might be putting a halt on those plans.

"No." It is cold and with a note of finality to it. Ciel was done arguing about this. Three days after their return a letter with the Royal Family's Seal came to the manor. Somehow, Queen Elizabeth II, already knew of his return to the manor and the state, marking the end of his extended vacation. She had required the Watchdog's presences while at the same requesting Earl Phantomhive's attendance at the Winter Ball. Refusing the Queen was simply not something anyone did, but Ciel wasn't one to mix "polite society" and the "underworld business", still it could not be helped this time.

Since hearing of the ball, Cordelia has been requesting to go with him none stop. Considering he wasn't certain how she would handle herself in public and the fact that this was a business trip, he didn't see the point in allowing her to come along. Still, she persisted and refused to take no for an answer. Today was the day of the ball and he had hoped to be finished with this by now.

The two continue to stare at each other from across the tables for a few more seconds and than Cordelia gently slides her chair out from behind her and rises to stand.

"I am not hungry anymore." She announces softly, dipping into a mocking curtsy and dismissing herself from the table. There is a loud and audible sigh coming from the woman who had been standing behind her. She was dressed in a rather form-fitting maid's attire, a dark black dress with a white apron. She had a thick black band with a bit of white frilly as a headdress. Her sleeves were puffed and her hands were gloved, she had on long black stockings, which are held up by a garter belt although had decided against putting on shoes or any type of footwear due to needing the ground to help her find her way around the massive manor.

Instead of shoes she simply made sure the length of the dress touched the floor hiding the fact that she walked around barefoot. Her eyes are concealed by a black ribbon that is usually tied around her neck like a chocker. For reasons she refuses to discuss, her eyes have been causing her a great deal of pain due to the lighting and the sun.

As Cordelia calls for her newly titled maid, Shiina turns and leaves the dining room without a word. Ciel watches this all with this weight on his chest. It takes him a few to recognize the feeling, guilt. After all this time it still cuts just as deep, he's not even sure why he felt so guilty he hadn't done anything wrong, Bloody Hell! That girl was infuriating. Ciel pushed his chair away from the table and stomped his way out of the room leaving the mess for the butler to clean.

It would be another hour of sitting in his room and moping before his guilt finally got the best of him. With an agonizing groan of pure frustration, the Phantomhive left his room behind to go and search the manor for the cause of his distress. It did not take long to find her, she went to the same place he often finds himself going to when troubled. His mother's garden. Outside his boots crunched through the powdered snow. The world around him was imprisoned in a glair-white silence. Nothing sounded, nothing stirred, nothing sang. Winters slavering fangs had come and gone. Its lacerating winds had stripped the last leaves from the trees, leaving them naked and brooding in a harsh world.

They were wrapped in their surgical coats now, groaning under the weight of the snow. Occasionally, a great limb would creak, crack and collapse. It sounded like an explosion going on. Other than that, an alien serenity garbed the enormous garden. There was no dawn chorus, no symphony of sound, no avian orchestra. The world was entombed in a dome of silence. Winter's deadly clutch had strangled and stifled all life from the land.

Here and there he was able to catch smaller bits and pieces of color from the flowers that bloomed in this winter wonderland. Beyond the plain shade of white that cloaked the garden, he found a set of footprints that brought him to the base of an elder tree. He didn't need to look up to know she was there, her heartbeat resonated loudly in a strong and steady rhythm. It had taken him some time to get used to the fact that he could hear heartbeats, sense souls, and so on in this new body of his. The one thing he could not accept was this hollow feeling inside like he was missing something he could never replace.

"Cordelia."

The scowl on Ciel's face grew in size when he got no response from the girl. It wasn't as if she could not hear him it was dead silence out here and no wind to carry away his words. Several feet up he could see the hem of the dark dress and a pale leg that hung over a branch. She had to be at least ten feet high. Against his better judgment, Ciel reaches up to take hold of the lowest branch and pulls himself up before searching for the next branch. The demon climbed the tree with an unnatural amount of ease and grace in only a handful of seconds.

He could feel the eyes on him and could practically imagine the light green emeralds watching him. He stopped on the branch right below the blonde's and tipped his head back to peer up at her. She had turned her eyes away from him the second he craned his head back and was now gazing out across the garden. She clearly had no intention of speaking to him if the tension in her jaw was anything to go by. His eyes were stuck on her current attire for sitting in a tree in winter.

"Where is your coat?" He broke the tense silence that had sat like a weight on his shoulder.

"Why do you care?" The reply came in a short tone with the sound chattering teeth following directly after. The dress she wore did little to nothing block the chill in the air even though the sun was out and gazing down at them with a warm glow. Ciel fought the urge to roll his eyes and leave her out here knowing that he'd be right back out here. Instead of giving her a sharp retore he decided to focus on the way her body quiver and shook on the tree limb.

He glances down at the branch he was crouching on, placing a palm against the frosted truck, he raises to stand slowly. He makes sure the branch can fully support his weight before standing at his full height. At five feet and eleven inches, he wasn't overly tall just the right size to close the distance between the branch overhead the one he stood on. He took a firm hold of the branch Cordelia was sitting on to keep his balance while shrugging off the coat he was wearing. He ignored the way her eyebrows remained pitched together as he dropped the coat in her lap.

It was still chilly but his body wasn't affected to a certain degree the same way hers was. The blue-black haired demon took a seat on the lower branch, feeling his guilt ebb just a tad bit as he watched the girl slip her arms in through the sleeve and her shivers slowly die away. The silence consumed them again, although, this one wasn't as strained, more curious as they searched their minds to find the corrected words that express their emotions.

"Why?" It was Cordelia's turn to start them off.

"Why what?"

"Why can't I go to the ball with you?"

"..."

"Do you hate me?"

"No." The abrupt answer startled both of them, causing Cordelia to lean over her branch to give him a look that he couldn't read seeing as he was too busy looking elsewhere and hiding the flush that crept along the bridge of his nose and stained his cheeks cherry red. "Why do you think that?" He was quick to change the subject.

"You've been very distant with me. You won't converse with me. You're usually locked in your studies. The only meal you've taken with me is the one this morning and even then that did not end well. You avoid tell me anything about your home or your life even though I have shared mine with you more than once. You seem lonely but won't let me in! I am trying to understand you but you're not making it easy. Even though your―" Her words flow out in one long breath before she bites off the last bit. They sound angry and distressed.

There was a nagging urge to make her finish speaking, but he was getting the feeling that it would start another argument that he didn't want to get into. The fact that she had chosen to put even a bit of emotion into what she was saying told him that this was obviously something that had been bothering her for a while. Why was it so important that she understand him? This partnership that they had didn't require him to tell her his whole life story, he did not need her to relate to him at all.

Yes, he had asked to know more about her and she had willingly given him that information. But that had been apart of their deal...sort of. None of that mattered right now. His past was irrelevant to the here and now so she should not be bothered with it. Or at least that is what he told himself since it was simpler than facing the truth.

"You're blunt, overly so since you don't think twice about lying no matter what the question. You're too trustful if anyone was to mention my name you'd simply assume that everything that came out of their mouth was the truth and you'd happily follow them to who-knows-where. You're far too innocent, despite the fact that you have such a brilliant mind you don't know what moves to make without having someone to properly guide you."

Ciel explained and would have sounded rather rude if anyone but Cordelia had been the one listening to him. She took no offense at anything that was said, she was flawed she knew that. In her defense, no one was perfect in this world. If everyone was perfect she and Shiina would not need to be Keepers. She has halted the rebirth of this world so many times, because of humanities imperfects. She'd constantly continued halting these coming disasters for the selfish reason of wanting to live and survive. Death was not something even her mind could comprehend.

"So if I don't talk too much, don't follow strangers, and stay close to you I can go the ball?"

People think of laughing as a noise that comes from the mouth, but when Ciel laughed it was nothing like that. The laugh was in his eye, in the way his face changed into that vision of relaxed joy and unrestrained mirth. Cordelia felt her muscles jump underneath her skin at the laughter. She couldn't fathom why he was laughing nor what she had said to earn such a rare reaction. Ciel Phantomhive did not smile so she was uncertain if having him laugh was a good thing or a bad one.

She found that she liked the sound he made when he laughed, it was pleasant. Cordelia couldn't tell, however, if he was laughing at her or not. She was not at all trying to be funny, she had trouble understanding humor and how to use it. She really did want to go to this ball. The idea of wearing a finer dress and dancing was very nice compared to her usual life. She had missed out on a lot while keeping to the shadows and protecting Humanity from the End.

She and Shiina were always stuck on the fringe society, looking in from the outside. Just for once she wanted to see why women, no matter the era or the place, fussed about balls, festivals, parties, and so on. Cordelia just wants to see what normal was like if just for a little bit.

"You have no clue how unhinged you make me." His words were so soft and low that only those with the ears of a demon could have picked them up. He really did just want to leave her here. He did not have anything to worry about if she remained at the Manor. The thought of her being the one to withdraw herself from him over something as stupid as a ball concerned him more then he liked. The control she had over him was astonishing, what was worse was the fact that she had not an inkling of a clue that she had anything on him.

Ciel couldn't begin to think of the words that described the emotions she's invoked within him. It wasn't loved. That wasn't even in his realm of possibilities. If plausible it was something far beyond something as simple as love. He was protective of her and steadily concerned about her safety, that was about the only thing he could surmise. It felt as if he'd be losing something important should he let her walk out of his life right this second.

When she was upset in any way, it hurt him physically and he had to make her happy. Everything else was far too complicated and too much for him to follow so early in this...relationship.

One day he'd solve this mystery that tied the two of them together so tightly, right now he had to figure how he was going to watch over Cordelia while dealing with his business with the Queen and the public's attention that was going be on them the minute they saw Cordelia. This was going to be a headache. Why pleasing her suddenly became a main priority in his life made no sense to him.

"Fine, you may come along." He was still reeling from the fact that he had actually just said that. Four days of nos and now it was suddenly alright. He needed her out of his life and at the same time yearned for her companionship. It was complicated. In the end, he supposed it was worth it see her eyes light up and resemble a meadow on a summer day. He'd repent ever saying he'd take her later.

* * *

 **Changing the rating of the story since I'm thinking this is going to go rather dark in the next few chapters. Sorry for such a long time to update, I had to change a few things and actually figure out where I wanted to go with this story, now I have a pretty go idea on the plot. Thanks for any reviews, favorites or follows. I appreciate them. I apologize in advance for any errors I might have made, don't have a beta and I am a flawed human.  
**


End file.
